Eating back workout calories

HeelsAndBoxingGloves

So I have read numerous posts about how you are supposed to eat back the calories you burn when you workout. Is it better to eat them before you work out? Or afterwards? Thanks!

olag00

I do not eat them back and I have lost 30 pounds in 64 days. That is just my 2 cents. I always eat 1800-2000 calories a day no matter if I burn 200 or 1000 from exercise.

fitforMYSELF

I would really like to know this answer also lol

jrich1

I would do it after so you know if you are going to eat back how much you should. AND.. it will help you refuel your body with nutrition after it was worked out

SassyStef

if you know how much you are going to burn for the day, work them a little into each meal so that it is scattered through out you day and you are not struggling to eat them all back by the end of the day.

The_Saint

Not sure it really matters.
Sure nutrient timing is important in regards to workouts, carbs for energy/replenish energy. proteins for recovery.
But ultimately, in my opinion just making sure you get the nutrition in...is number one.

lewisroinell

I wouldn't eat them but if you do I would personally eat them afterwards.

amaried621

My opinion is to eat [most of] them before you workout. Since your body turns the food you eat into energy it makes more sense to eat the majority of them before you work out.

erickirb

It is best to pread them out throughout the day. If you are going to exercise late in the day, estimate your burn and eat some of the extra during the day and some after you workout.

Kelly_Wilson1990

There were so many conflicting reports that I finally asked my doctor about eating back calories. She told me not to worry about eating back calories. If I feel I little hungry then have an extra snack. I also drink a Body Fortress Protein Shot after exercising for a boost of protein for my muscles.

eates

I workout in the morning so most of mine are consumed after my workout. However if I'm working out that day I have a slightly larger breakfast than I do if it's a rest day- both because I know I'll need the energy and because it gives me a head start on eating back my exercise calories.

Hanna82

I eat back as many calories that will keep me within a net range of 1200-1450. It's not good to not eat back calories that will make you under 1200 because then your body just goes into starvation mode and you're doing it all for nothing. I had to learn that the hard way.

crisanderson27

I do not eat them back and I have lost 30 pounds in 64 days. That is just my 2 cents. I always eat 1800-2000 calories a day no matter if I burn 200 or 1000 from exercise.

And you have/had a large amount of weight to lose...this is a relative thing. Simply put, you can absorb a larger deficit for longer periods than other people might (women have less muscle mass in general so it tends to hit them harder). In the end, if you keep it up though...it's going to bite you.

I eat most of my exercise calories back...and I spread it out throughout my day...for two reasons. First...pounding ONE meal after your workout to cover it is sort of silly...and two, even if I'm not feeling the workout (and I usually enjoy it quite a bit)...I've sort of got to if I've already scarfed 1/3 or more of my exercise calories down. Yesterday was a prime example.

Cris

erickirb

There were so many conflicting reports that I finally asked my doctor about eating back calories. She told me not to worry about eating back calories. If I feel I little hungry then have an extra snack. I also drink a Body Fortress Protein Shot after exercising for a boost of protein for my muscles.

This is okay if you have a lot to lose, once you get down to 50 lbs or so to go you should be eating them back, as your fat stores are much smaller and are harder to draw from.

sunflwrgirl58

I am new to MFP and I don't understand the "eating back" calories. Isn't the point to lower your caloric intake to lose weight in the first place? So, I normally don't eat the extra calories MFP gives when I log my exercise. I like skwilson1990's reply too!

FatUncleRob

I was going to say I always do it AFTER but ,when I think about it, I usually eat a little more breakfast and lunch if I know I'm going to work out in the afternoon/evening.

I eat my exercise calories back because, that way, I can eat more, lose weight and I really don't feel like I'm on a "diet". This is (hopefully) a permanent life-style change. I'm losing around 2 lbs a week and I'm feeling great, not feeling like I'm depriving myself.
No doubt, if I didn't eat back the calories, I'd lose some weight faster - but I'd be a lot more likely to "cheat" or "fall off the wagon".

jbucci1186

I do not eat them back and I have lost 30 pounds in 64 days. That is just my 2 cents. I always eat 1800-2000 calories a day no matter if I burn 200 or 1000 from exercise.

^i basically did the same thing... I still kind of do, but now I eat a higher number of calories per day.

I would say though, that if you're going to, eat them after you workout as opposed to before because then you'll know exactly how many calories you burned and are allowed. Also, you may find that you don't want to eat back all of the calories you burned and therefore burn some "extra" for that day. If you ate the calories before, I would just make sure you were certain you'd be able to burn off all of them during your workout.

hope that helps!

SLaw4215

I have just really started a daily walking routine a couple of weeks ago and I am still trying to organize my schedule so that I can add in Zumba (Wii) workouts with some sort of regularity. I am just getting used to having excess calories. And I don't feel confident yet that I trust the MFP exercise database for accuracy of the calories I am burning. It always seems much higher than other sources I'm comparing the numbers to. When it comes to eating back the calories I am listening to my body. If I'm not hungry I don't force myself to eat them back. If I'm hungry I'm glad to have the reserve and don't feel like I'm doing something wrong if I decide to eat them. I had gotten stuck at one weight for several weeks and had started to lose motivation but instead of throwing in the towel I added another lap to my walking routine. I'm under for calories pretty much every day now but I promise I'm not skipping meals and I don't go bed hungry.

crisanderson27

There were so many conflicting reports that I finally asked my doctor about eating back calories. She told me not to worry about eating back calories. If I feel I little hungry then have an extra snack. I also drink a Body Fortress Protein Shot after exercising for a boost of protein for my muscles.

And does your Dr. know that MFP already calculates in a deficit?? I talked to my Dr about it too...she told me not to eat back exercise calories. I explained about the deficit...she said 'The point of exercise is to maintain a caloric deficit and raise your metabolism...if you eat the calories you expended, it's counter productive'. Soooo I explained it again...making VERY sure she looked me in the face while I told her that my calorie counter ALREADY CREATES A DEFICIT...and that I'm not just going off my BMR or TDEE.

'Ohhh!! Well then of COURSE you need to eat them back! Too large a deficit is unhealthy!'

Sometimes you have to slap a Doctor in the face with something before they listen...they have ten million other patients asking similar question...and most often, everyone gets the same answer.

Cris

erickirb

I am new to MFP and I don't understand the "eating back" calories. Isn't the point to lower your caloric intake to lose weight in the first place? So, I normally don't eat the extra calories MFP gives when I log my exercise. I like skwilson1990's reply too!

The reason you should eat them back is that when you set up your account you picked a weekly weight loss goal, MFP gave you a caloric intake to give you a deficit each day to meet that goal without exercise. So if you exercise you make that deficit larger, and if your deficit is too large you risk damaging your metabolism, which can cause you to burn muscle instead of fat, not to mention many other negative side effects.

The program is set up the way it is for a reason, please follow the program for 3-4 weeks as intended before trying something different. If it doesn't work for you after than much time them you should try something else, but at least give the program a chance.

taso42_DELETED

So I have read numerous posts about how you are supposed to eat back the calories you burn when you workout. Is it better to eat them before you work out? Or afterwards? Thanks!

Doesn't really matter what time(s) you eat. The main thing that matters is your trend of net calories for the day.

By "trend", I basically mean what you're averaging. If you average a 500 cal per day deficit, then you will be averaging remarkably close to a 1 lb per week loss. With the deficit a little bigger, you will lose a little faster; with the deficit a little lower, you will lose a little slower. With the deficit much too big, you will likely stop losing weight, feel hungry, sluggish, irritable, possibly binge....

pghfan

I agree that you have to tweak your program to do what's right for you. I never eat the exercise calories back and I am losing steadily. It's such a small amount in the scheme of things (200-400 calories) in my case, that I can't imagine it makes much difference either way. But certainly if you're hungry, it's nice to have that to fall back on.

HeelsAndBoxingGloves

Wow lots of good information! I was thinking that spreading them out before working out would be a good way to do it and it seems some of you agree with that so I think I'm going to try that! Thanks everyone for the input!!!